Guidelines. Research. Advice.

Website Writing Guide

Punctuation

Basic punctuation rules

Below are the basic punctuation tips to improve the readability of your content:

Use a minimum of commas. If a sentence requires more than one or two commas, it is a sign to the writer that it may contain too many ideas or is too long.

Be careful not to discard commas that are essential to the meaning of the sentence.

Search engines, like Google, index Web pages not websites.

Search engines like Google, index Web pages not websites.

Avoid using semi-colons. Semi-colons are used when a sentence requires a stronger break than a comma. If you arrive at the point where a semi-colon is needed it may be time to split a sentence in two or break it into a list of dot points.

Use punctuation to help establish the style and tone of the content. Using apostrophes and shortened forms of words conveys a casual tone. For example, writing don't is friendlier and less bureaucratic than do not.

Be sure to hyphenate compound adjectives and verbs. These are two words which, when put together, form an adjective or verb.
For example: end-to-end, over-use, across-government, left-hand, colour-blind, well-known.